HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Westminster Clock Tower

Greg Knight: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission who gave authority to the BBC to project an illumination of the results of the general election onto the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster on 6 and 7 May; and whether the proposal was considered before a Committee of the House.

Stuart Bell: Approval was given by the Speaker after consultation with the chair of the Administration Committee. The Administration Committee was not able to consider the request before Dissolution.

CABINET OFFICE

Admiralty Arch

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which Ministers have been allocated accommodation in Admiralty Arch.

Francis Maude: No Ministers have been allocated accommodation in Admiralty Arch.

Departmental Internet

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has for the future of the  (a) Number 10 and  (b) Cabinet Office website; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The Government believe that departmental websites should be hubs for debate as well as information-where people come together to discuss issues and address challenges-and that this should be achieved efficiently and, whenever possible using open source software. Any future development of websites run by the Cabinet Office will be assessed and reviewed against these criteria.

Departmental Security

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many  (a) current and  (b) former employees of (i) the Liberal Democrat Party and (ii) the Conservative Party have been issued with a (A) Cabinet Office and (B) 10 Downing Street security pass;
	(2)  which Members of the House of Lords have been issued with  (a) Cabinet Office passes and  (b) Number 10 Downing Street security passes since 6 May 2010.

Francis Maude: Passes for access to 10, 11 and 12 Downing street and the Cabinet Office are issued to staff who work in the building and to individuals who require access for business purposes.

Departmental Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the  (a) name and  (b) version is of each computer software package used by his Department to calculate travel costs.

Francis Maude: All travel management companies (TMCs) contracted to the Department are required to provide management information in Microsoft Office Excel format. The Cabinet Office utilises Microsoft Office Excel for calculations in relation to its travel costs.

Departmental Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what budget has been set for international travel by staff of his Department in 2010-11.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office budgets for 2010-11 have not yet been disaggregated to a level which allows identification of the expected spend for international travel by staff in 2010-11. A budget profiling exercise is currently underway and will be completed shortly.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which five local authority wards had the lowest percentage electoral registration rate in each constituency in each region of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Francis Maude: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Government Departments: Data Protection

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to maintain the security of Government-held personal data.

Nick Herbert: I have been asked to reply.
	The security of personal data is of paramount importance to this Government as is the protection of people's rights in relation to their personal data through the upholding of the Data Protection Act. Since taking office we have moved responsibility for information security and assurance for Government Departments to the National Security Secretariat, based within the Cabinet Office and reporting to the Security Minister. The Information Security and Assurance team and the Office of Cyber Security are in the process of merging to lead a joined-up approach to information assurance and cyber security strategy and policy.
	Government Departments are responsible for the protection of personal data that they handle following the rules as set out by the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework and the cross-Government requirements on the handling of personal sensitive data.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the nationality is of each special adviser employed by the Government.

Francis Maude: Information relating to the nationality of civil servants, including special advisers, is personal information and therefore not normally disclosed.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many special advisers have been appointed by each Minister in the Government.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman).

Ministers

David Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to provide to hon. Members a list of Ministerial responsibilities including contact details.

Francis Maude: The 'List of Ministerial Responsibilities' will be published as soon as possible.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Ministers  (a) had and  (b) had not signed the Ministerial Code on 21 May 2010.

Francis Maude: There is no requirement for Ministers to sign the Ministerial Code.

Ministers: Pay

Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the planned five per cent. reduction in ministerial salaries will entail a commensurate reduction in pension contributions.

Francis Maude: Under the rules of the Parliamentary Pension Scheme, ministerial pension entitlements are based on the level of salary entitled to rather than taken. The Government will bring forward an Order in Council this year to reduce ministerial salaries, which will mean that there will be a commensurate reduction in pension entitlements.

Ministers: Pay

Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much is planned to be saved in 2010-11 as a result of the five per cent. reduction in ministerial salaries.

Francis Maude: The exact amount of savings will depend on the precise composition of the Government over the year. We expect to make savings of over £500,000 per year.

Ministers: Training

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what training his Department has made available to Ministers for their continuing development;
	(2)  what items are included in the programme for the Ministerial induction courses provided by his Department.

Francis Maude: The National School of Government is a non-ministerial department for which I have responsibility for in Parliament. Consequently, I have asked the chief executive for the National School of Government to respond directly to the hon. Member's parliamentary questions about ministerial training.
	 Letter from Rod Clark, dated June 2010:
	The National School of Government works with the Cabinet Office to provide the Ministerial programme, details of which are available on the National School's website at:
	www.nationalschool.gov.uk/policy/MinisterialProgramme (23)
	Working closely with the Cabinet Office, the National School of Government's induction workshops for Ministers new to office included: a briefing on the Ministerial Code; a chance to discuss the realities of working as a Minister and working with the Civil Service; and a briefing on the learning and development opportunities available to Ministers. (24)

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the address is of the head office of each non-departmental public body.

Francis Maude: This information is published by individual Departments. Links to the latest relevant departmental publications can be found on the civil service website at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/ndpb

Purchasing of PR Week

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many copies of PR Week are regularly purchased for  (a) Number 10 Downing Street and  (b) the Cabinet Office.

Francis Maude: No. 10 Downing street and the Cabinet Office do not purchase copies of PR Week. There are no subscriptions in place; however, one complementary copy is sent to the Cabinet Office and No. 10 respectively as part of individual staff membership to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

Trade Unions

David Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to consult trade unions in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency on cost reduction plans.

Francis Maude: I already do and will continue to consult with the trade unions about a wide range of topics of mutual interest. This will include the Department's contribution to deficit reduction plans.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bees

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with  (a) the British Beekeepers' Association and  (b) the National Bee Unit on bee health; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) is an Executive Agency of DEFRA. FERA develops and delivers all aspects of bee health policy, and engages with relevant organisations on behalf of DEFRA, as well as providing supporting scientific expertise. The National Bee Unit (NBU) is part of FERA, facilitating the Agency's policy unit's regular discussions with both the NBU and relevant organisations on all aspects of bee health.
	FERA has regular discussions with the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) both through its involvement in the Healthy Bees Plan, in which the BBKA plays an active part, and directly through a range of other activities.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) plasma and  (b) LCD televisions there are in ministerial offices in her Department.

Richard Benyon: Each Minister has an LCD TV in his or her private office. Each room occupied by a ministerial support team also has an LCD TV. There are ten such TVs in total.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff at each Civil Service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in her Department.

Richard Benyon: The DEFRA ministerial team has four private offices staffed by a team of 26 full-time staff. The breakdown is set out in the following table. It excludes (a) staff on temporary contracts, (b) the special adviser and (c) staff employed in the Permanent Secretary's private office and parliamentary branch.
	
		
			  Grade  Secretary of State  Minister of State  Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Commons)  Parliamentary Under - Secretary of State (Lords) 
			 SCS 1
			 G7 1 1 1 1 
			 HEO 2 2 2 2 
			 EO 3 1 1 1 
			 AO 3 0.5 0.5 1 
			 SGB1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Game: Animal Welfare

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to bring the code of practice for the welfare of game birds reared for sporting purposes into force.

James Paice: I have decided to withdraw from Parliament the Code of Practice for the welfare of game birds reared for sporting purposes because I do not consider that it is entirely based on scientific evidence, particularly in relation to the housing of breeding birds. I have also reconvened the working group which drafted the original code, with the intention of amending the code and re-laying it before Parliament for approval as soon as possible.

Water Charges

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she has sought the views of Ofwat on the recommendations in Chapter 14 of the Walker Review of water service charges;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the merits of applying the recommendations of chapter 14 of the Walker Review of water service charges to South West Water;
	(3)  if she will consider the introduction of a nationally-funded vulnerability tariff for water customers to protect those areas with exceptionally high household charges.

Richard Benyon: Ministers will examine the conclusions of the Walker review and respond to them in due course.
	Meanwhile, as recommended in the Walker review, Ofwat is looking at the specific recommendations outlined in chapter 14 concerning water charges in the south-west. We will consider Ofwat's findings once they are available.

JUSTICE

Care Proceedings

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken to complete court care proceedings was in each local authority area in each year since 2003-04.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following table shows the average number of weeks from the date an application was lodged to the date an order was made for care and supervision cases in England and Wales. Statistics for 2009-10 are not yet available. Data are presented by HM Courts Service areas, as a local authority area breakdown is not collected centrally and could be obtained only through the inspection of individual case files at disproportionate cost. Data are provided for county courts from 2003-04 to 2008-09. For Family Proceedings Courts data are only available for 2008-09 based on the same geographical areas. Completed cases are counted by child for the Family Proceedings Courts and by orders made for the county courts.
	
		
			  Average number of weeks from application to order for care and supervision cases in England and Wales 
			  HMCS area  County courts  Family Proceedings Courts 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, and Gloucestershire 53 55 54 58 62 57 44 
			 Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley 50 62 52 48 51 58 44 
			 Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk 54 47 46 47 51 54 44 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 51 51 56 55 58 57 56 
			 Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria 56 56 44 48 57 59 46 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 48 44 46 51 53 61 44 
			 Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire 59 54 50 50 58 54 43 
			 East Midlands 59 51 50 48 48 50 44 
			 Greater Manchester 53 51 51 55 57 59 39 
			 Humber and South Yorkshire 48 44 42 41 45 46 39 
			 Kent, Surrey and Sussex 60 56 55 51 57 59 47 
			 London Civil and Family 42 67 62 56 66 65 50 
			 Mid and West Wales 54 53 47 52 53 47 45 
			 North and West Yorkshire 49 41 42 49 48 53 40 
			 North Wales 59 60 56 62 51 58 38 
			 South East Wales 52 49 48 51 60 59 50 
			 Staffordshire and West Mercia 65 58 50 47 48 54 47 
			 West Midlands and Warwickshire 69 67 59 57 63 64 49 
			 National total 55 53 51 52 56 57 45 
			  Notes: 1. The data are taken from the HMCS FamilyMan System and Family Case Tracker. 2. The figures cover cases only where a care order or a supervision order was made. The figures do not include include other care and supervision disposals (e.g order refused, order of no order) and do not include other order types (e.g. emergency protection, secure accommodation). 3. The figures reflect the mean number of weeks from application to order. This means that the numbers of weeks taken for each order have been added up and the total has then been divided by the number of orders. 4. The figures count the number of care and supervision orders disposed in each year. 5. Figures for FPCs prior to 2008-09 are unavailable on the same geographical areas.

Care Proceedings

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many care proceedings cases in each local authority area are currently open in the family courts; how many were open in each of the last five years; and how many have reached a conclusion  (a) in 2010 to date and  (b) each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Table 1 shows the number of care and supervision cases outstanding as at the end of December in each year from 2005 to 2009 in the Family Proceedings Courts and County Courts of England and Wales. Data are presented by HM Courts Service areas as a local authority area breakdown is not collected centrally and could be obtained only through the inspection of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Total number of care and supervision outstanding cases in the Family Proceedings Court  Total number of care and supervision outstanding cases in the County Courts 
			   December  December 
			  HMCS area  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Avon and Somerset Devon and Cornwall, and Gloucestershire 342 350 348 342 370 260 303 275 310 389 
			 Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley 227 187 216 227 301 188 221 175 179 320 
			 Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk 282 264 372 282 371 273 236 241 233 286 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 126 225 210 126 253 240 300 248 261 356 
			 Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria 484 642 636 484 533 198 270 264 235 317 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 82 115 113 82 101 185 198 218 200 297 
			 Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Wiltshire 162 154 206 162 215 160 151 173 165 233 
			 East Midlands 395 444 367 395 560 164 176 176 214 287 
			 Greater Manchester 133 174 140 133 295 361 378 394 353 547 
			 Humber and South Yorkshire 166 183 188 166 201 252 265 239 245 335 
			 Kent Surrey and Sussex 325 340 364 325 512 256 260 287 245 340 
			 London Civil and Family 1,017 1,020 888 1,017 1,426 850 733 724 561 758 
			 Mid and West Wales 94 106 97 94 168 67 43 40 53 115 
			 North and West Yorkshire 185 169 293 185 409 229 258 240 225 294 
			 North Wales 16 25 30 16 57 57 77 67 52 80 
			 South East Wales 157 205 162 157 260 136 133 122 116 156 
			 Staffordshire and West Mercia 152 217 219 152 274 104 115 88 88 148 
			 West Midlands and Warwickshire 303 320 332 303 966 391 340 342 294 464 
			 National total 4,648 5,140 5,181 4,648 7,272 4,371 4,457 4,313 4,029 5,722 
			  Notes: 1. The data are taken from the HMCS FamilyMan System and Family Case Tracker. 2. The figures relate to the new HMCS areas. 3. The total number of outstanding cases show the total number of care and supervisions cases open at the end of December each year. 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of care and supervision orders made in each calendar year from 2004 to 2008 for County Courts and the High Court.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Care and supervision orders made in the County Courts and High Court, England and Wales 
			  HMCS area  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and Gloucestershire 395 355 334 372 450 
			 Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley 386 274 337 310 331 
			 Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk 327 325 445 399 350 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 330 396 393 466 453 
			 Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria 369 403 303 349 464 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 316 257 342 327 283 
			 Dorset, Hampshire and IOW and Wiltshire 311 255 299 255 272 
			 East Midlands 391 369 299 292 351 
			 Greater Manchester 561 490 715 736 579 
			 Humber and South Yorkshire 435 489 559 611 476 
			 Kent, Surrey and Sussex 266 200 418 471 371 
			 London Civil and Family 916 846 989 878 868 
			 Mid and West Wales 82 113 109 100 71 
			 North and West Yorkshire 516 427 484 552 530 
			 North Wales 106 84 92 167 173 
			 South East Wales 240 278 262 239 168 
			 West Mercia and Staffordshire 175 195 208 253 186 
			 West Midlands and Warwickshire 474 509 588 434 446 
			 National Total 6,596 6,265 7,176 7,211 6,822 
			  Notes: 1. The data are taken from the HMCS FamilyMan System. 2. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. 3. Disposals in each year may relate to applications made in earlier years. 4. Figures are provided for County Courts and the High Court. 
		
	
	Table 3 shows the number of care and supervision orders made from April 2007 to December 2008 in the Family Proceedings Courts; figures for earlier periods are not available for these areas.
	More recent statistics than those shown are not yet available.
	
		
			  Table 3 
			   Care and supervision orders made in the Family Proceedings Courts, England and Wales 
			  HMCS area  April 2007 to December 2007  January 2008 to December 2008 
			 Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and Gloucestershire 262 361 
			 Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley 174 272 
			 Cambridgeshire, Essex. Norfolk and Suffolk 133 202 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 139 135 
			 Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria 327 387 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 85 84 
			 Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Wiltshire 107 121 
			 East Midlands 198 372 
			 Greater Manchester 76 116 
			 Humber and South Yorkshire 64 153 
			 Kent, Surrey and Sussex 161 258 
			 London Crime, Central and South 533 543 
			 Mid and West Wales 69 56 
			 North and West Yorkshire 176 214 
			 North Wales 9 43 
			 South East Wales 149 172 
			 West Mercia and Staffordshire 172 239 
			 West Midlands and Warwickshire 93 129 
			 National total 2,927 3,857 
			  Notes: 1. The data are taken from the HMCS FamilyMan System and One Performance Truth database. 2. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. 3. Disposals in 2007 and 2008 may relate to applications made in earlier years. 4. Figures are provided for Family Proceedings Court. 5. For Family Proceedings Courts the earliest available data that can be broken down by HMCS area is from April 2007. Therefore figures for 2007 relate to data from April 2007 to December 2007.

Contact Orders

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many  (a) mothers and  (b) fathers breached contact orders in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those breaches resulted in (i) a fine and (ii) imprisonment in each such year;
	(2)  how many contact orders relating to the movement of children abroad were granted in the last three years;
	(3)  how many contact orders were breached in the last three years;
	(4)  how many contact orders were made in  (a) public and  (b) private in each of the last three years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following table shows the number of public and private law Section 8 contact orders made in the family courts in England and Wales between the years of 2006 and 2008. 2008 is the latest year for which data on orders made have been published. Statistics on contact orders made are published by the Ministry of Justice in the annual Command Paper "Judicial and Court Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library of the House and on the Ministry's website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/judicialandcourtstatistics.htm
	
		
			  Section 8 contact orders made in all tiers of court between 2006 and 2008, by whether public or private law 
			   Public  Private  Total 
			 2008 2,568 76,759 79,327 
			 2007 2,471 69,713 72,184 
			 2006 2,221 70,608 72,829 
			  Notes: 1. Figures presented are for England and Wales only. 2. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. 3. Disposals in each year may relate to applications made in earlier years. 4. Data for 2006 have been revised. 5. All tiers of court are represented in the answer; specifically the family proceedings court, county court and High Court.  Source: Judicial and Court Statistics 
		
	
	Information about the number of contact orders made relating to the movement of children abroad is not held centrally, and could be obtained through the inspection of individual files only at disproportionate cost.
	It is not possible to know whether a contact order was breached unless either a new contact order is applied for, or an enforcement order is applied for to enforce the original contact order. The enforcement order was introduced in December 2008. There were 1,081 applications for enforcement orders in respect of contact orders, in the county courts during calendar year 2009. Information on which parent breached a contact order is not held centrally.

Electoral Register

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of persons resident in each constituency eligible to vote and not on the electoral register.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what estimate has been made of the number of persons resident in each constituency eligible to vote and not on the electoral register (33).
	ONS does not have the data required to answer your question. Data are collected on the number of UK citizens resident in Parliamentary Constituencies who are registered to vote, but no data are collected on the number of people who are eligible to vote but who choose not to register.

Fines: Surcharges

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to abolish the practice whereby courts add a victim surcharge to penalties imposed for offences in cases where there is no victim.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are committed to ensuring that offenders pay financial reparation to victims of crime. We firmly believe that offenders should take responsibility, regardless of the offence committed, for compensating victims and contributing toward the cost of supporting them to overcome the effects of crime. A victim surcharge of £15, used to fund victims' services, is currently applied to all sentences which include a fine.
	In line with our commitments in the coalition agreement to a sentencing review, we are exploring ways in which offenders might contribute to services and support for their victims and victims generally.

Pleural Plaques: Compensation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals for compensation of people with pleural plaques; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: In the light of the medical evidence available on pleural plaques, the Government do not consider it appropriate to overturn the House of Lords 2007 judgment that the condition is not compensatable under the civil law of tort. The Government will proceed with the implementation of the previously announced limited extra-statutory scheme to provide one-off payments to individuals who had begun, but not resolved, a legal claim for compensation for pleural plaques at the time of the House of Lords judgment. We hope that the scheme will be in a position to start accepting claims from the end of June.

Prisoners

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely size of the prison population in May 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population in England and Wales, most recently in August 2009. These project the prison population under three different scenarios (high, medium and low), based on different assumptions about future sentencing trends. In May 2011, the projected total populations are: 89,200 under the high scenario, 87,500 under the medium scenario and 85,600 under the low scenario. These figures incorporate the impact of the ending of End of Custody Licence (ECL).

Prisoners

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the prison population was in  (a) May 1997,  (b) in May 2001,  (c) in May 2002 and  (d) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The prison population in England and Wales on the last day of May for 1997 was 60,335, last day of May 2001 was 66,012, for the last day of May 2005 was 76,141 and for 21 May 2010 (latest available) was 85,201.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Construction

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future of the prison building programme.

Crispin Blunt: As part of the rehabilitation revolution, we will work towards providing a fit for purpose prison estate through building new prisons and closing inefficient and worn out places.
	The National Offender Management Service will deliver over 14,000 prison places under the prison capacity programme by 2012. A planning application for a new 1500 place prison at Runwell in Essex has been submitted to Chelmsford borough council. At the same time we are undertaking a review of sentencing and will continue to keep our prison population and capacity projections under review in the light of this.

Residence Orders

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) mothers and  (b) fathers have applied for residency orders; and what proportion of these were successful in each of the last three years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested is as follows.
	Tables 1 and 2, show for each of the last three calendar years, the number of applications made for residence orders where the applicant relationship to child was recorded as father or mother.
	
		
			  Table 1: Applications for section 8 Residence Orders under the Children Act 1989 by mothers or fathers in private law cases in the High Court or County Court in England and Wales, 2007 to 2009 
			   Private Law 
			   Mother  Father  Other relationship, or no information recorded  Total residence orders applied for 
			 2007 12,597 13,276 4,003 29,876 
			 2008 13,969 13,797 4,494 32,260 
			 2009 15,456 14,637 4,515 34,608 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Applications for section 8 Residence Orders under the Children Act 1989 by mothers or fathers in public law cases in the High Court or County Court in England and Wales, 2007 to 2009 
			   Public Law 
			   Mother  Father  Other relationship, or no information recorded  Total residence orders applied for 
			 2007 73 52 691 816 
			 2008 53 26 440 519 
			 2009 46 22 471 539 
		
	
	The figures reflect the number of applications made, counted by child. This means that an application was made in respect of two children will be counted twice. The figures may not exactly match previously published figures as they were produced using a more recent extract from the family court administrative data system and reflect any updates to information held in the meantime.
	The figures exclude applications made in Family Proceedings Courts as information on applicant relationship to child is not held centrally for all Family Proceedings Courts.
	It is not possible to determine the proportion of the applications which were successful as no information is held centrally on which person in the relevant case receives a residence order. However, the numbers of section 8 residence orders made in the County Court or High Court in England and Wales during 2007 and 2008, as published in the annual "Judicial and Court Statistics" report, are given in Table 3. Statistics on residence orders made in 2009 are not yet available and will be published in the next edition of the Ministry of Justice's "Judicial and Court Statistics" report in September 2010. Copies of these reports are available in the Library of the House and on the Ministry of Justice website at
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/judicialandcourtstatistics.htm
	
		
			  Table 3: Section 8 Residence Orders made under the Children Act 1989 in the High Court or County Court in England and Wales, 2007 to 2008 
			   Private Law  Public Law 
			 2007 29,724 379 
			 2008 32,650 514

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Burglary: Self-defence

Robert Buckland: To ask the Attorney-General if he will make it his policy to revise the Code for Crown Prosecutors, with particular reference to the rights of householders to protect their  (a) persons and  (b) property.

Edward Garnier: I have been asked to reply.
	The Code for Crown Prosecutors is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under Section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and provides guidance to prosecutors on the general principles to be applied in all prosecutorial decisions. It is kept under regular review to ensure that it remains in line with legislative and policy changes. It has recently been revised, following public consultation, and was published on 22 February 2010.
	The DPP has additional legal guidance on the application of these broader principles in specific circumstances, including cases involving householders using force on intruders. In the light of the publication of the Coalition commitment to ensuring that people have the protection that they need when they defend themselves against intruders, consideration will be given to reviewing this guidance to prosecutors in due course.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the  (a) implementation of penalty clauses and payments in its contracts and  (b) potential legal action arising from the deferral and cancellation of contracts and projects under his Department's plans to achieve cost savings; and whether those estimates are included in the total cost savings to be achieved by his Department.

Dominic Grieve: The Attorney-General's office has not incurred any additional costs due to the cancellation of contracts or projects.
	All current contracts are continuously reviewed to ensure that they represent the best value for money and meet business requirements.

Euthanasia

Greg Knight: To ask the Attorney-General if he will review the appropriateness of the assisted suicide policy published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in February.

Dominic Grieve: I do not have any plans to invite the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review his policy, issued on 25 February 2010, on prosecuting cases of encouraging or assisting suicide.
	The DPP published his policy following the judgment of the House of Lords in R (on the application of Purdy)  v . DPP on 30 July 2009 which required him to outline the public interest factors, both for and against prosecution, that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will take into account in considering such cases. As was outlined at the time of publication, the policy does not change the law, nor does it sanction the taking of life by another person. The policy should be read in conjunction with the Code for Crown Prosecutors which continues to apply in all cases.
	The policy replaced the DPP Interim Policy, published in September 2009, and followed a period of extensive public consultation.

Euthanasia

Greg Knight: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of suspected assisted suicide have been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many of these cases proceeded to court.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) keeps central records of the numbers of charged offences reaching a first hearing in magistrates courts under section 2(1) Suicide Act 1961, that is, cases of assisted suicide. Table 1 outlines the numbers recorded over the last three years:
	
		
			  Table 1: Charged offences reaching a first hearing in the magistrates courts 
			   Number of cases 
			 2007-08 4 
			 2003-09 2 
			 2009-10 2 
		
	
	Cases of assisted suicide have been required to be referred to CPS headquarters only since December 2008 and more detailed records are only available since then. Based both on that information and other records covering the years 2008-09 and 2009-10, the numbers of cases referred to the CPS in which a decision not to prosecute has been made over the last three years are outlined in Table 2:
	
		
			  Table 2: Cases of suspected assisted suicide sent to the CPS 
			   Number of cases 
			 2007-08 Not available 
			 2008-09 3 
			 2009-10 8 
		
	
	These cases may include those in which it was decided that the two-stage Full Code Test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors was not met, and those which resulted in a different charged offence, for example, murder or manslaughter. These data may not be exhaustive, and do not include those charged offences that reached a first hearing in the magistrates' courts outlined in Table 1.
	In addition, there are currently a number of other cases of suspected assisted suicide in which the investigation and/or charging process is yet to be completed.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) plasma and  (b) LCD televisions there are in Ministerial offices in his Department.

Chris Grayling: The previous Government purchased a total of 9 LCD TVs and no plasma TVs in ministerial offices in the Department.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions will follow the Government policy and processes for publishing expenditure over £25,000 which are currently being developed by the Office of Government Commerce.

Future Jobs Fund: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Leeds Central constituency and  (b) the city of Leeds are participating in the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Future Jobs Fund: Leeds

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Leeds West constituency have received assistance from the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Future Jobs Fund: North East

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the North East region have been placed into employment as a result of funding from the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	Official statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions shows that 420 people began a Future Jobs Fund placement in the North East region between October 2009 and January 2010.

State Retirement Pensions: Payments

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on provision of pensions to pensioners by cheques; and what arrangements his Department is making for pensioners who wish to continue receiving their payments by cheque;
	(2)  how many pensioners receive their state pension payments by cheque.

Steve Webb: Making payments direct into an account, including a post office card account, is the way the Department pays pensions and benefits because it is safe, efficient and fast. Cheque payment is available for those customers who, exceptionally, cannot be paid into an account of any kind.
	The Department has begun the process to replace the current system of cheques. Cheques are more vulnerable to fraud than payments into an account and the replacement product will better provide the security that is needed to protect the taxpayer against fraud and abuse. We have worked with stakeholders to ensure that the new service meets the needs of all customers who are unable to operate an account of any kind, including the more vulnerable.
	The Department's statistical information is broken down by benefit or pension account rather than by individual. As at February 2010, the latest date for which information is available, the number of state retirement pension accounts paid by cheque was around 44,000, or 0.4 percent. However, some state pensioners also receive additional benefits or allowances. Overall, this means that some 90,000 pensioner accounts, around 0.7 percent, are paid by cheque in respect of state pension, pension credit or other allowance. Some of these allowances will be combined together and paid as one cheque.

TRANSPORT

A15

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on funding for  (a) safety improvements and  (b) carriageway widening on the A15 in the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has received no such representations in the past 24 months on either  (a) safety improvements or  (b) carriageway widening on the A15.

Airports: Parking

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the merits of taking steps to reduce excessive charges for car parking at UK airports; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The setting of charges for car parking at UK airports is a commercial matter for the car park operators concerned. Airport car parks operate in a competitive environment, which offers a wide range of parking options and tariffs.

Aviation: Disabled

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to require British aeroplane operators  (a) not to charge passengers with medical conditions who require oxygen and  (b) to allow the use of portable oxygen concentrators during flights.

Theresa Villiers: This issue falls under European Regulation 1107/2006 on the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air. The regulation does not impose specific obligations to carry or provide medical oxygen in the cabin. The matter is therefore one for airlines themselves to determine.
	UK airlines have a good record in this respect. Many, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, EasyJet, Flybe and Thomson/First Choice, allow passengers to use their own medical oxygen and their own portable oxygen concentrator free of charge. This compares favourably with other European airlines.

Blackpool-Manchester Railway Line: Electrification

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when an announcement will be made on whether the planned electrification of the Blackpool to Manchester rail line will take place; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 2 June 2010
	 We are in the early stages of the new Government and Ministers are considering the full range of transport policy. The Government support rail electrification as it helps to reduce carbon emissions and cut running costs.

Bus Services: Regulation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for the regulation of the bus network throughout England.

Norman Baker: The Coalition Agreement makes clear that we will encourage joint working between bus operators and local authorities. The Local Transport Act 2008 introduced a number of new bus regulations in relation to Quality Contract Schemes and Quality Partnerships Schemes in England and the related guidance has been published in full. I intend to wait for the outcome of the Competition Commission inquiry into the local bus market in England outside London before deciding on the need for any further regulatory reform of bus provision.

Crossrail Line: Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital funding his Department has allocated to the Crossrail project for  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) each of the two subsequent financial years.

Theresa Villiers: Under the Crossrail Project Development Agreement between the Secretary of State for Transport, Transport for London and Crossrail Limited, the Department for Transport has undertaken to make the following funding available:
	
		
			   Amount (£ million) 
			 2010-11 220 
			 2011-12 622 
			 2012-13 1,250

Departmental Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many full-time equivalent staff at each Civil Service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department.

Philip Hammond: The breakdown of staff showing full-time equivalents at each grade is in the following table.
	
		
			  Minister  Staff grades  Full-time equivalents 
			 Secretary of State-Philip Hammond Senior Civil Servant 1 
			  Grade 7 1 
			  Higher Executive Officer (Fast Stream) 2 
			  Executive Officer 1 
			
			 Minister of State-Theresa Villiers Grade 7 1 
			  Higher Executive Officer (Fast Stream) 2 
			  Executive Officer 1 
			  Administrative Officer 1 
			
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary Norman Baker Higher Executive Officer 1 
			  Executive Officer 3 
			
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary Mike Penning Higher Executive Officer (Fast Stream) 1 
			  Executive Officer 3

Levenshulme Station: Disability

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the level of use by passengers of Levenshulme Station in Manchester makes it eligible for funding for disabled access from the Government's Access for All scheme.

Theresa Villiers: The Access for All programme was launched in 2006 and currently includes 148 stations, which are targeted to receive an accessible, step-free route to and between platforms.
	Stations were selected based on footfall, weighted by the incidence of disability in the local area so as to prioritise investment where it could deliver the maximum benefit to disabled people. In addition, approximately a third of the funding was allocated to achieve an equitable regional spread, with train operators and others consulted on their priorities. There was not a minimum usage threshold for eligibility.
	In addition, the Access for All small schemes programme has made match funding available for smaller enhancements at stations, meeting local needs. Applications to this fund have been assessed based on indicative value-for-money criteria of £1 per annual passenger. To date, around £23,500 has been offered to Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive for enhancements at Levenshulme including hearing induction loops and passenger information systems.

Manchester Metrolink

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Manchester Metrolink extensions phases 3a and 3b will be treated as a single contract.

Norman Baker: Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the promoters of the Manchester Metrolink system, incorporated an option in the procurement contract for Metrolink Phase 3a works to extend the contracted works to cover Metrolink Phase 3b extensions. The Deed of Variation to include Phase 3b extensions was signed on 25 March 2010.

Network Rail: Finance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information Network Rail has provided to his Department on its plans for cost reductions; and over what period of time he expects such reductions to be achieved.

Theresa Villiers: Network Rail is required by the Periodic Review settlement to deliver efficiency savings of 24 % against its 2008 baseline by the end of March 2014.
	In addition, Network Rail has now indicated that, subject to the consent of the Office of Rail Regulation, it will reduce its spending by a further £100 million in 2010-11, reducing the company's requirement for Government funding by £100 million in the current year.

Official Cars

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the planned reduction is in the number of  (a) cars and  (b) employees in the Government Car Service (GCS); and what the expected reduction in expenditure on the GCS is.

Michael Penning: The plan is to save at least one third from the cost of the Government Car Service. The exact amount will be determined once decisions on the number of cars and drivers required to provide an efficient service, in line with the new Ministerial code, have been taken.

Park and Ride Schemes

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake an investigation into  (a) the cost effectiveness of all park and ride schemes and  (b) the relative cost effectiveness of park and ride schemes and increased town centre parking provision; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has no plans to undertake such an investigation. The cost effectiveness of park and ride schemes will vary considerably according to local circumstances and their interaction with other local transport measures. Local authorities are best placed to determine the relative costs and benefits of park and ride schemes against alternative measures in their own areas.

Railways: Kent

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the potential effects on the level of  (a) congestion on the main approach roads into London and  (b) carbon dioxide emissions of reducing fares on the North Kent railway line.

Theresa Villiers: There are no specific plans in place to assess the potential effects of reducing fares on this corridor although the Government take fare levels into account in formulating its overall approach on rail.

Railways: Manpower

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has received from Network Rail on the likely effects on the number of jobs in the rail industry of his Department's requirement to make £100 million in savings.

Theresa Villiers: Network Rail has indicated that, subject to the consent of the Office of Rail Regulation, it will reduce its planned spending by £100 million in 2010-11, reducing the company's requirement for Government funding by £100 million in the current year. Network Rail has not indicated that this will have an impact upon employment levels.

Roads: Accidents

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the UK economy of road accidents.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport's latest estimates of the annual cost to the UK economy of road accidents are published in Reported Road Casualties Great Britain (RRCGB): 2008 Annual Report, on page 28, table 2c. Copies of the report have been deposited in the House Library and are also available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport from which highway improvement plans in the North East he expects funding reductions to be made to contribute to his Department's £112 million cost reductions.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not produced any regional breakdown for our £683 million contribution to the £6.2 billion savings announced by the Chancellor. None of the three schemes delivered by the Highways Agency that will be deferred is in the north-east. The Government will shortly announce in more detail the implications for individual grants, including transport grants, that form the £1.65 billion savings contribution from local authorities.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what original estimate was made of the number of  (a) direct and  (b) indirect jobs which would be created as a result of train carriage orders which have been recently cancelled.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 2 June 2010
	 The orders which have been signed for new rolling stock are at various stages of completion. None of these orders have been cancelled. No assessment has been made of jobs created as management of resources to build the trains is the responsibility of the train manufacturer.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which orders for train carriages have been cancelled consequent on the recently-announced planned spending reductions.

Theresa Villiers: The orders that have already been signed for new rolling stock are at various stages of completion. None of these orders have been cancelled. In terms of further new orders that were being discussed with operators as part of the HLOS programme, there will be a pause (for financial year 2010-11) to assist the Department in making its contribution to the Government's in-year savings programme.

Stockport Station

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable has been set for the refurbishment of Stockport station.

Theresa Villiers: This is primarily a matter for Network Rail as owner of the station.
	The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	King's Place
	90 York Way
	London N1 9AG.

Vans: Speed Limits

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to oppose proposals at EU level to introduce a mandatory requirement for speed limiters on vans; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Speed limiters are already required on all goods vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes maximum gross weight in the interests of road safety and environmental protection. If there were to be any proposal for limiters to be required on lighter goods vehicles we would want to review the supporting evidence from the EU on costs and benefits carefully before determining what the UK response would be.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Pakistan: British Nationals Abroad

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the number of UK citizens resident in Pakistan; and what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in that country.

Alistair Burt: The number of British Nationals in Pakistan at any one time is estimated to be approximately 80,000. This figure is made up of about 40,000 visitors and 40,000 residents. The highest concentration of British Nationals is in Pakistan Administered Kashmir, in particular in Mirpur District. This figure includes those holding dual British/Pakistani nationality.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office constantly assess the security situation in Pakistan. These assessments inform our Travel Advice for Pakistan. We currently advise against all travel to several areas, including Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and much of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. We advise against all but essential travel to North and Western Balochistan, and to parts of interior Sind.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Official Cars

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Government  (a) cars and  (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department.

David Mundell: The current interim arrangement for the SO are (i) one car and (ii) one driver for the Secretary of State primarily but which may be used by the Advocate-General and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State if not required by the Secretary of State. This arrangement is supplemented by pool cars if needed.
	The new ministerial code, published on 21 May 2010, contains changes that affect ministerial entitlement to travel by Government car. It states that
	"the number of Ministers with allocated cars and drivers will be kept to a minimum, taking into account security and other relevant considerations. Other Ministers will be entitled to use cars from the Government Car Service Pool as needed".
	The Department for Transport and its Government Car and Despatch Agency are working with Departments to effect the transition to the new arrangements.
	The ministerial code, published on 21 May 2010, is available on the Cabinet Office website.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much expenditure his Department has incurred to date on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier programme; and what his most recent estimate is of the total cost of the programme.

Peter Luff: To the end of April 2010, around £1.2 billion has been spent on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Our current estimate of total programme cost is £5.25 billion.

Armed Forces: Deployment

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Army soldiers and  (b) families of Army soldiers are stationed at each base in (i) Germany and (ii) Cyprus; and what the cost to the public purse was in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 2 June 2010
	The number of Army personnel stationed in each base in Germany and Cyprus is shown in the following table. It has not been possible to determine the number of Army dependants in Cyprus within the time available and so the total number of Service dependants (which includes Royal Air Force dependants) has been provided for these locations.
	
		
			  Location  Number of Army Personnel  Number of Dependants 
			  Cyprus   
			 Episkopi 621 1215 
			 Akrotiri 185 1220 
			 Ayia Nik 90 497 
			 Dhekelia 693 671 
			 Troodos 8 31 
			 Nicosia (Op TOSCA) 276 53 
			
			  Germany   
			 Rhinedahlen 2,656 3,397 
			 Gutersloh 6,520 6,743 
			 Paderborn 4,963 5,032 
			 Bergen-Hohne 5,058 4,912 
		
	
	The cost to the public purse associated with maintaining and operating bases over the last financial year was £94.958 million for Cyprus and £528.982 million for Germany. These figures do not include any manpower costs as we would incur the vast majority of these costs wherever personnel were based.
	Some of these costs would still be incurred if those personnel currently based in Germany and Cyprus were relocated within the UK.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were discharged from each of the armed services for disciplinary offences in 2009.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the number of service personnel who were discharged in 2009 as a result of being found guilty of an offence at a court martial:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Naval Service 9 
			 Army 92 
			 Royal Air Force 7

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent assessment has been made of the level of security for families living on Ministry of Defence housing estates at the Colchester Garrison; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether additional security measures will be implemented at Ministry of Defence housing estates at the Colchester Garrison during the period for which 16 Air Assault Brigade is deployed to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what measures have been taken to  (a) maintain and  (b) increase the level of security of families living on Ministry of Defence housing estates at the Colchester Garrison since the occupation of some of the houses by civilians; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The policing presence at Colchester Garrison is provided by Ministry of Defence Police, with the support of police community support officers and Essex police. Current arrangements are judged to be in line with the current threat assessment. Additional policing will be provided, with the support of the Royal Military Police, when 16 Air Assault Brigade is deployed.
	For the last 10years the Colchester Garrison housing estate has consisted of a combination of military and civilian owned homes. This arrangement has so far worked well.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the designated strength was of the Ministry of Defence Police at the Colchester Garrison  (a) in 1997,  (b) in 2007 and  (c) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: The numbers of Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) officers employed at Colchester Garrison in 1997, 2007, and on the latest date as of the end of May 2010 are as follows:
	
		
			  Date  Total 
			 May 1997 32 
			 May 2007 12 
			 Current complement (end May 2010) 3 
		
	
	The current complement of MDP provides a community policing role at Colchester Garrison. Security is provided by the Ministry of Defence Guard Service, the Military Provost Guard Service and members of the Army unit stationed at the Garrison.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether new recruits to each of the armed services are required to undergo Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Andrew Robathan: New recruits to each of the armed forces are not required to undergo Criminal Records Bureau checks as a matter of routine. However, there are some trades, such as medical and dental personnel, which may require them to routinely deal with vulnerable individuals. For these few specialisations, a Criminal Records Bureau check will be requested as part of the application process.
	For service personnel who are to be appointed to posts that may expose them to vulnerable individuals or young adults, for example instructor duties, a Criminal Records Bureau check will be carried out prior to their appointment in accordance with the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the policy of each of the armed services is on recruitment of people with a criminal record; and which criminal offences are a bar to recruitment to each force.

Andrew Robathan: Applicants for the armed forces are required to declare any unspent convictions, in terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, as part of the application process. The general principle applied by each of the services is that any unspent convictions will be a bar to recruitment. However, in some exceptional cases applicants with unspent convictions are able to enter service, for example a one-off offence committed as a minor, but this is subject to authorisation from the appropriate single service manning authority.
	There are some offences that will never be spent in terms of the Act and will permanently prevent service in the armed forces, for example, a custodial sentence of 30 months or more. Failure to disclose an unspent conviction represents a breakdown in trust and stating a falsehood on attestation. This will invariably result in dismissal.

Defence Storage and Distribution Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2010,  Official Report, column 5W.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any defence procurement projects have been  (a) cancelled or (b) postponed pending a Strategic Defence Review.

Liam Fox: No defence equipment projects have been cancelled pending the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The whole equipment programme will be considered by the Review; where project decisions are dependent on the Review's outcome, approval timetables are being adjusted accordingly. This may lead to delays in some projects that have not yet been approved.

Nuclear Submarines

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the safety valve faults on HMS Tireless and HMS Turbulent have been encountered on any other vessel in the UK submarine fleet; and whether the rest of the fleet has been checked for this fault.

Peter Luff: The problem referred to was the failure to remove test blanks fitted as part of the Trafalgar class maintenance process. The valves themselves were not faulty.
	These blanks are fitted only to the Trafalgar class because the equivalent systems on other submarine classes have a different design and do not require them. The remaining Trafalgar class submarines were checked and none of them were found to have blanks still fitted.

Nuclear Submarines

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where HMS Turbulent was deployed while its safety valves were faulty.

Peter Luff: The safety valves on HMS Turbulent were not faulty; the safety blanks fitted as part of the refit process to the relief system were not removed. This is a backup system and other safe guards were operating correctly.
	I am withholding details of the deployment area in which HMS Turbulent was operating for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Nuclear Submarines

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department was made aware that the safety valves on  (a) HMS Tireless and  (b) HMS Turbulent were faulty.

Peter Luff: The problem referred to was the failure to remove test blanks fitted as part of the Trafalgar class maintenance process. The valves themselves were not faulty.
	The Department was made aware that blanks were incorrectly still fitted to HMS Turbulent on 26 February 2010, and to HMS Tireless on 27 February 2010.

Nuclear Submarines

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long he estimates safety valve faults with  (a) HMS Tireless and  (b) HMS Turbulent went undetected.

Peter Luff: The problem referred to was the failure to remove hull valve blanks fitted as part of the Trafalgar class maintenance process. The valves themselves were not faulty.
	The hull valve blanks remained fitted on HMS Tireless following maintenance that completed in December 2009, and on HMS Turbulent following maintenance that completed in September 2008. In both submarines, the presence of the blanks was identified in February 2010.

Trident

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the cost of  (a) replacement of the Trident submarine system and  (b) the programme for the replacement of the warheads.

Liam Fox: holding answer 2 June 2010
	The 2006 White Paper "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994) stated that the total procurement costs of the successor deterrent capability will be in the region of £15 billion to £20 billion, at 2006-07 prices, for a four-boat fleet. This comprises £11 billion to £14 billion for the submarines, £2 billion to £3 billion for the possible refurbishment or replacement of the warhead and £2 billion to £3 billion for infrastructure.
	On current plans, we will be in a position to release more up-to-date costs later this year after the final Initial Gate paper has been considered.

Trident

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of  (a) the total procurement costs associated with implementing the proposals in the White Paper on The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent, Cm 6994,  (b) the cost of four successor submarines,  (c) the cost of refurbishing or replacing the Trident warhead,  (d) the infrastructure costs associated with these proposals and  (e) the cost of replacing the Trident missile system.

Liam Fox: The 2006 White Paper "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994) stated that the total procurement costs of the successor deterrent capability will be in the region of £15-£20 billion, at 2006-07 prices, for a four-boat fleet. This comprises £11-14 billion for the submarines, £2-3 billion for the possible refurbishment or replacement of the warhead and £2-3 billion for infrastructure.
	On current plans, we will be in a position to release more up-to-date costs later this year after the final Initial Gate paper has been considered.
	In addition, the 2006 White Paper made clear that the Trident D5 missile is expected to last until the 2040s. At this range, any estimate of the cost of a replacement missile would be highly speculative: the equivalent cost for the Trident D5 missile was some £1.5 billion at 2006-07 prices.

Trident

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the annual in-service cost of the nuclear deterrent programme once the successor submarine is in service.

Liam Fox: As the 2006 White Paper 'The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent' (Cm6994) makes clear, once the new fleet of ballistic missile submarines come into service we expect that the in-service costs of the UK's nuclear deterrent, which will include the Atomic Weapons Establishment's costs, will be similar to today, around 5 to 6% of the defence budget.

Trident

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of expenditure on the UK nuclear deterrent programme, including  (a) the atomic weapons establishment and the successor submarine programme,  (b) the atomic weapons establishment and  (c) the successor submarine programme in each year from 2008-09 to 2019-20.

Liam Fox: The expenditure of the nuclear deterrent programme in the period covered by the 2007 comprehensive spending review is:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Actual expenditure  Predicted expenditure 
			  Area  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Future Submarine Programme 140 290 350 
			 Atomic Weapons Establishment 800 870 950 
		
	
	Spending plans for 2011-12 and beyond will be set as part of the Government's spending review process.

Trident

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider the merits of alternatives to a like-for-like replacement for Trident.

Liam Fox: The Government are committed to the maintenance of Britain's nuclear deterrent. We will scrutinise the renewal of Trident to ensure value for money.

Trident

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Initial Gate decision for the successor submarine project is due to be made; what reasons were given by the Defence Board for a postponement of the Initial Gate decision; and whether he plans to provide for approval of the proposal by Parliament before the decision is made.

Peter Luff: We postponed the Initial Gate decision to allow more time to review fully the possible design options.
	It is not normal for Parliament to be involved in Initial Gate decisions for procurement projects. I do however, propose to update Parliament on progress after Initial Gate. The main investment decision point, and the point at which we would issue the main contracts to industry for the construction of the new submarines, is still several years away.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Durham Constabulary: Cost-effectiveness

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what savings Durham Constabulary is expected to make as a contribution to the £135 million of police efficiency savings announced on 24 May 2010.

Nick Herbert: Revised Force allocations for 2010-11 were set out in the written ministerial statement laid on 27 May 2010. These are subject to parliamentary approval.

Knives: Crime

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on reducing knife crime; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: To free up officer time to be better able to deal with the crime, including knife crime, that blights lives, we will reduce time-wasting bureaucracy that hampers police operations and introduce better technology to make policing more effective while saving taxpayers' money.
	In addition, in the Coalition Government's programme for crime and policing, we have committed to make hospitals share non-confidential information with the police so they know where gun and knife crime is happening and can target stop-and-search in gun and knife crime hot spots.

Police Authorities

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of Essex Police Authority in the latest year for which information is available; what plans she has to increase the level of cost-effectiveness of police authorities in the 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: Essex Police Authority estimate they spent £1.6 million specifically on the administration of the Authority in their Revenue Budget Statement for 2009-10. Including the force budget, the police authority received a total of £260.3 million in that financial year. The Government intend to introduce directly elected individuals to replace police authorities. I also expect police forces to continue to drive out wasteful spending on support functions, reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in key functions - leaving the frontline of policing strong and secure.

Police Authorities

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the future of police authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The Government are committed to replacing bureaucratic accountability with democratic accountability. We will introduce directly-elected individuals to replace police authorities and hold forces to account on behalf of the public.

Police Committees: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department has allocated for payments to members of police committees in each of the last four years.

Nick Herbert: The information requested is not held centrally. It is a matter for each individual police authority what payment it makes to its members, from the core funding provided by Government.

Police: Bureaucracy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce the amount of time spent by police officers on administrative tasks; what recent estimate she has made of the average time spent by police officers on administration per  (a) day,  (b) week and  (c) month; what recent representations she has received on police morale; what response she made to such representations; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The police should be focusing on police work, not paperwork. We will introduce better technology, return charging decisions to the police for minor offences and look very carefully at the health and safety rules.
	I want the service to play its part as well and we will challenge forces to look closely at their internal systems. Police officers must have the professional discretion to make decisions.
	I have already discussed these issues at the full Police Federation Conference earlier this month and will continue to explore them with the full range of policing partners.

Police: Bureaucracy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce the number of forms police officers are required to complete in respect of each prosecution; what recent discussions she has had with the Police Federation on that matter; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: We will reduce time-wasting bureaucracy that hampers police operations, return to common sense policing and introduce better technology to make policing more effective while saving taxpayers' money. I want to make sure that officers can use their professional discretion without being hindered by excessive bureaucracy and risk assessments. As a priority we will return charging decisions to the police for minor offences so that frontline officers are sufficiently empowered to use their discretion.
	I discussed these proposals with the Police Federation at their annual conference earlier this month and will continue to engage with them and other police partners on this issue.

Police: Pay

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on police overtime in each police force in the last 12 months.

Nick Herbert: The latest available information is for 2008-09 and is set out in the table.
	Information about the categories of police service expenditure, including overtime, is available on the website of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants
	http://www.tisonline.net/
	
		
			  Police force overtime (England and Wales) 2008-09 
			  £ 
			  Police force  Officer overtime  Overtime by other staff 
			 Avon and Somerset 6,535,000 1,403,000 
			 Bedfordshire 3,962,000 447,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 4,584,000 481,000 
			 Cheshire 4,425,000 2,080,000 
			 City of London 2,141,000 223,000 
			 Cleveland 3,813,000 340,000 
			 Cumbria 1,712,000 748,000 
			 Derbyshire 4,256,000 761,000 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6,467,000 1,295,000 
			 Dorset 3,181,000 533,000 
			 Durham 2,702,000 348,000 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,329,000 290,000 
			 Essex 9,623,000 1,470,000 
			 Gloucestershire 2,662,000 327,000 
			 Greater Manchester 23,319,000 3,534,000 
			 Gwent 3,548,000 1,277,000 
			 Hampshire 8,871,000 1,575,000 
			 Hertfordshire 6,159,000 1,124,000 
			 Humberside 5,402,000 1,184,000 
			 Kent 10,084,000 2,286,000 
			 Lancashire 7,801,000 1,121,000 
			 Leicestershire 5,169,000 602,000 
			 Lincolnshire 2,680,000 368,000 
			 Merseyside 10,846,500 1,845,637 
			 Metropolitan police 137,876,000 17,396,000 
			 Norfolk 3,298,000 540,000 
			 North Wales 2,738,000 504,000 
			 North Yorkshire 2,477,000 669,000 
			 Northamptonshire 2,829,000 1,083,000 
			 Northumbria 7,424,000 1,178,000 
			 Nottinghamshire 5,469,000 848,000 
			 South Wales 6,449,000 771,000 
			 South Yorkshire 8,329,000 2,090,000 
			 Staffordshire 4,969,000 582,000 
			 Suffolk 2,856,000 454,000 
			 Surrey 4,643,000 1,962,000 
			 Sussex 6,598,000 920,000 
			 Thames Valley(1) - - 
			 Warwickshire 3,330,000 434,000 
			 West Mercia 5,770,000 742,000 
			 West Midlands 21,301,000 2,160,000 
			 West Yorkshire 13,790,000 7,395,000 
			 Wiltshire 3,180,000 568,000 
			 Total 385,597,500 65,958,637 
			 (1) Information not available for Thames Valley police

Police: Training

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of those completing the recruitment process to join a police force as an officer did not subsequently take up employment as a police officer; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally.
	Police forces are responsible for managing their own recruitment campaigns and process, within a national standards framework. Information on those completing the police officer recruitment process and subsequently joining the police force is held by individual recruiting departments.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Television

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) plasma and  (b) LCD televisions there are in Ministerial offices in his Department.

Owen Paterson: In Millbank, London, there are  (a) no plasma screens and  (b) one LCD television. In Stormont, Belfast, there are  (a) no plasma screens and  (b) two LCD televisions in the two ministerial offices.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000.

Owen Paterson: In line with the Prime Minister's letter to Cabinet Ministers, the Department will publish any new items of central Government spending over £25,000 from November 2010. Further guidance from Cabinet Office is awaited.

Official Cars

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Government  (a) cars and  (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has been allocated two cars and drivers by the Government Car and Despatch Service, based in London. Separate arrangements exist for Ministers when travelling in Northern Ireland.

HEALTH

Abortion: Advertising

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to monitor the effects of television advertisements for abortion services on the abortion rate; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: There are no plans to undertake such specific monitoring. Abortion rates are affected by a number of complex factors. The Department monitors overall abortion trends and develops policy in the light of these.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate his Department has made of average waiting times to be seen at the accident and emergency department at  (a) Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup,  (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich,  (c) Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington and  (d) Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford.

Simon Burns: Information is not collected in the format requested.
	Information is held at the level of trusts and information is not available for specific hospital sites. The following table sets out the mean and median time spent between arrival and departure in accident and emergency (A and E) departments for Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust and Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust in 2008-09 (latest data available).
	
		
			   Minutes 
			  Hospital provider  Mean duration to departure  Median duration to departure 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 144 141 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 192 166 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust (1)- (1)- 
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (2)- (2)- 
			 (1) Data not available (2) Data not submitted  Notes: 1. Duration to Departure: The time (expressed as a whole number of minutes) between the patient's arrival and the time the A and E attendance has concluded and the department is no longer responsible for the care of the patient. 2. A and E Data Quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by a number of NHS providers across England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seek to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. The A and E HES publications addresses some of the key data quality and coverage issues. These are available on HESonline at: www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=1271  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Bassetlaw Hospital

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the  (a) continued operation of and  (b) service level at Bassetlaw District General Hospital accident and emergency department.

Simon Burns: The Government have pledged that, in future, all service changes must be led by clinicians and patients, not be driven from the top down.
	On 20 May 2010, David Nicholson, the national health service chief executive, wrote to all NHS bodies involved in service redesign, setting out the expectation that decisions on NHS service changes would: focus on improving patient outcomes; reflect current and prospective patient choice; have support from general practitioner commissioners; and be based on sound clinical evidence.
	The local NHS has been asked to consider the impact of these strengthened criteria in their area and local communities are establishing how this work will be taken forward. However, at the present, no formal proposals have been brought forward regarding Bassetlaw District General hospital accident and emergency department.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make arrangements to meet representatives of people with haemophilia who were infected with hepatitis C through treatment with contaminated blood products.

Anne Milton: holding answer 2 June 2010
	We would be willing to meet representatives of people with haemophilia who were infected with hepatitis C through treatment with contaminated blood products.

Blood: Donors

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received in favour of allowing those classified as men who have sex with men to donate blood to the National Blood Service; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Since January 2010, the Department has received representations from the public on this issue in the form of correspondence and a petition.
	The National Blood Service (part of NHS Blood and Transplant) has a duty to ensure a sufficient supply of safe blood for patients in England and North Wales.
	Currently, those people in groups shown to have a particularly high risk of carrying blood-borne viruses, which includes men who have sex with men, are asked not to give blood. This exclusion is based on the increased risk of blood-borne infection from specific sexual behaviour, rather than sexuality.
	The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is currently reviewing the evidence on which these criteria are based. SaBTO expects to report its findings and recommendations in January 2011.

Continuing Care

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria he plans to use to determine the composition of the proposed commission on long-term care; who will appoint the members of that commission; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Government recognise that urgent reform of the social care system is needed to provide much more control to individuals and their carers, and to ease the cost burden that they and their families face. We will establish a commission on funding long-term care, to report within a year.
	Membership of the Commission and terms of reference will be announced shortly.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent staff at each Civil Service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department.

Simon Burns: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Ministerial Office and number of full-time equivalent staff at each grade 
			  Civil Service Grade  Secretary of State  Minister of State for Health  Minister of State for Care Services  Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health  Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality (Lords) 
			 SCS1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Grade 6 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Grade 7 2 1 1 1 1 
			 Fast Stream 2 3 1 2 0 
			 Senior Executive Officer 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Higher Executive Officer 0 1 2 2 2 
			 Executive Officer 4 1 1 1 1 
			 Administrative Officer 2 1 1 1 1

Departmental Official Cars

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Government  (a) cars and  (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department.

Simon Burns: There are currently five allocated cars and drivers allocated to Ministers in the Department. In line with the new ministerial code, Ministers at the Department have given up their allocated cars and drivers. The existing contracts, which were subject to a 90-day contract termination period, end on the 19 August 2010.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department issues to water authorities which are considering whether to fluoridate water supplies.

Anne Milton: Section 58 of the Water Act 2003 empowered strategic health authorities (SHAs) to contract with water undertakers to fluoridate a water supply after conducting public consultations. The Chief Dental Officer's guidance to SHAs can be accessed at the following link and a copy has been placed in the Library. No SHAs are currently conducting consultations on fluoridation.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_082666

Homeopathy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts provide homeopathic services for patients.

Anne Milton: The Department does not routinely collect this information. However, many issues relating to homeopathy were raised by the Science and Technology Committee report "Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy". The Government will be responding to this report in due course.

Homeopathy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on NHS homeopathic treatment in  (a) England and  (b) Sandwell in the last year for which information is available.

Anne Milton: Information on general national health service spend on homeopathy is not routinely collected centrally.

Marie Stopes International

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of NHS patients who had  (a) pregnancy counselling followed by an abortion provided by Marie Stopes International (MSI),  (b) pregnancy counselling by MSI and chose an alternative to abortion and  (c) had an abortion provided by MSI without having received counselling from that organisation; and what the cost was to the NHS of such services for those patients.

Anne Milton: This information is not collected centrally.

Marie Stopes International

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which clinics and hospitals  (a) owned and  (b) leased by Marie Stopes International provide abortions; how many approved beds each such unit contains; and whether each such unit is approved for (i) surgical day care abortions with or without general anaesthetic and (ii) late abortions.

Anne Milton: There are currently 13 clinics managed by Marie Stopes International (MSI) which are approved by the Secretary of State for Health to perform abortions. Information is not held by the Department on whether these clinics are owned or leased by MSI and the conditions of approval no longer cover numbers of approved beds in each clinic. The Secretary of State's approval does not specify whether medical, surgical or late terminations can be performed. Some clinics may however, under their conditions of registration from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), be only permitted to perform medical termination of pregnancy up to nine weeks gestation. The CQC also assess whether clinics are able to perform termination of pregnancy at gestations of 20 weeks and over. It is our understanding that four clinics currently undertake procedures at these gestations.

Marie Stopes International

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in clinics and hospitals  (a) owned and  (b) leased by Marie Stopes International (i) for each region, (ii) in respect of length of gestation, (iii) in respect of women of each (A) age group and (B) nationality group in each of the last three years for which information is available; how many complaints his Department received about Marie Stopes International in that period; and if his will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table. Information is not held on whether these clinics are owned or leased by Marie Stopes International (MSI). Data are also collected by country of residence not nationality. One complaint has been received about MSI by the Department in the past three years.
	
		
			  Abortions taking place at Marie Stopes clinics in England, by place of residence, age and gestation, 2007-09 
			  Strategic Health Authority/Country of residence  2007  2008  2009 
			 East of England 6,851 7,133 6,894 
			 East Midlands 365 298 236 
			 London 29,733 27,959 25,732 
			 North East 322 216 121 
			 North West 3,883 4,515 5,029 
			 South Central 4,218 3,956 3,446 
			 South East Coast 7,408 6,828 6,674 
			 South West 1,579 2,207 1,882 
			 West Midlands 245 152 171 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,626 3,562 3,473 
			 Wales 572 426 253 
			 Northern Ireland 704 646 537 
			 Scotland 141 103 94 
			 Republic of Ireland 3,331 3,089 2,733 
			 Rest of Europe 173 219 235 
			 Rest of World 111 135 170 
			 Total 63,262 61,444 57,680 
			  Age at Termination
			 under 18 4,520 4,435 3,944 
			 18 and 19 5,927 6,034 5,577 
			 20 to 24 16,845 16,453 15,572 
			 25 to 29 14,916 14,394 13,457 
			 30 to 34 10,230 9,969 9,558 
			 35+ 10,824 10,159 9,572 
			 Total 63,262 61,444 57,680 
			  Gestation weeks
			 under 10 50,416 49,711 46,662 
			 10 to 12 7,550 6,773 6,109 
			 13 to 23 5,296 4,960 4,909 
			 Total 63,262 61,444 57,680

Medical Records: Databases

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to end uploading of medical data to the Summary Care Record; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Uploading of information to the summary care record will continue to take place, where the relevant general practitioner (GP) practices and primary care trusts (PCTs) agree that patients have been adequately informed about the process, and properly enabled to opt out should they wish, and where GP practices and PCTs are satisfied that data are of an appropriate quality for sharing.

Skipton Fund

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will appoint an independent chair to review the operation of the Skipton Fund;
	(2)  when he plans to publish terms of reference for a review of the Skipton Fund.

Anne Milton: holding answer 2 June 2010
	We are carefully considering policy in this area, and we will announce a decision in due course.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many  (a) plasma and  (b) LCD televisions there are in Ministerial offices in his Department.

Hugh Robertson: This Department has four LCD televisions in ministerial offices and no plasma televisions. All were purchased before Parliament was dissolved on 6 April.

Departmental Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the  (a) salary and  (b) other emoluments are of each public appointment for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: This information is not held centrally. Information on board membership and remuneration is published in individual bodies' annual reports and accounts.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Anti-Semitism

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future of the inter-departmental working group on anti-Semitism.

Andrew Stunell: The Department of Communities and Local Government will continue to chair and support the work of the inter-departmental working group on anti-Semitism. The next meeting of this group will take place in July 2010.

Anti-Semitism

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to report on the Government's implementation of the recommendations of the All-Party Inquiry into Anti-Semitism in 2010.

Andrew Stunell: The Department for Communities and Local Government intends to report on the Government's implementation of the recommendations of the All-Party Inquiry into Anti-Semitism by the end of 2010.

Biodiversity

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to page 17 of The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, what plans he has to promote green spaces and wildlife corridors in order to halt the loss of habitat and restore biodiversity.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
	We look forward to receiving Sir John Lawton's report, "Making Space for Nature", later in the summer. Sir John's update in March reported that to achieve a coherent and resilient ecological network we will need to look beyond existing designated sites and take account of landscape designations, local wildlife sites and green spaces.
	The Government are also looking forward to the completion of work currently being carried out by Natural England on the implementation of landscape-scale enhancements to benefit wildlife. This will build on and use the lessons learned from existing work such as the Great Fen, a collaboration between Natural England, Environment Agency, the local Wildlife Trust and district council, which is joining up two national nature reserves through creating 3,700 ha of wetland habitat in Cambridgeshire, which will deliver benefits not only for biodiversity but also for water quality, recreation and local communities.
	In addition, this Government will deliver a White Paper, the first since 1990, that will, finally, take an integrated approach to the natural environment in all its aspects. By reflecting nature's real value in our social and economic decisions we will be able to review and improve the ways in which we both harness and protect it. We are currently considering options and time scales for taking this commitment forward.

Home Information Packs

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what written representations he has received from the housing industry on home information packs  (a) before and  (b) since his announcement on their suspension; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Andrew Stunell: The decision to suspend home information packs was announced on 21 May. The Department received 168 written representations from individuals and companies involved with the housing industry before this date and 45 representations between 21 May and 28 May. We regarded these representations as "sent in confidence" and copies will not therefore be placed in the Library at the present time. Current policy is that unsolicited correspondence from the public is normally treated as confidential, in contrast to responses to public consultations.

Housing and Regeneration: Telford

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his plans are for the future funding of Government housing and regeneration programmes in Telford.

Andrew Stunell: The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced the details of £6.2 billion of savings from Government spending in 2010-11 in order to start tackling the unprecedented budget deficit. While Ministers have already announced savings across a number of housing and regeneration programmes to achieve this, further decisions on the funding of programmes will be considered as part of the Emergency Budget on 22 June, and in the forthcoming spending review, the outcome of which will be announced in the autumn when the long-term plans for programmes, including those in the hon. Member's constituency, will be set out.

Planning Permission

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to allow local authorities not to implement the requirements of Local Development Frameworks and Supplementary Planning Documents covering land for which detailed planning consents have not been granted; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The new Government are already taking steps to abolish Regional Strategies and give councils more power and discretion to determine their own planning policies. The Secretary of State has recently written to local authorities on this issue and a copy of the letter is available in the Library of the House. A more detailed planning statement, including addressing the issues of the revision of Local Development Frameworks, will be published in due course.

Regional Planning and Development

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to remove regional housing targets in advance of the introduction of primary legislation on regional spatial strategies.

Bob Neill: We are absolutely committed to abolishing Regional Strategies, including regional housing targets. The Secretary of State has written to all local authority chief planning officers confirming this. This constitutes a material consideration in planning terms as emerging policy. We are keen to move in advance of legislation and are currently considering revoking Regional Strategies ahead of taking legislation through Parliament. We will make a statement in due course.

Regional Planning and Development

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable he has set for the ending of regional spatial strategies; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: We are absolutely committed to abolishing Regional Strategies and are very keen to move in advance of legislation. The Secretary of State has written to all local authority chief planning officers confirming this. This constitutes a material consideration in planning terms as emerging policy. We are currently considering revoking Regional Strategies ahead of taking legislation through Parliament.

Sleeping Rough

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of people sleeping rough; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: We will implement a range of measures to address the problems of the homeless, including addressing more widespread concerns on the current street count methodology.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

University Funding

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for funding universities in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) future years.

David Willetts: Universities will receive a total of £7.3 billion from the Higher Education Funding Council for 2010, including £5.1 billion for teaching and £1.6 billion for research. This includes an increase of £70 million since the December 2009 grant letter. We are funding 10,000 extra university places in 2010-11 on the back of the coalition agreement to widen educational opportunities.
	This Department will make future funding decisions in the light of the Browne review on student finance, which was established by the last Government and which will report later this year.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and I have recently written to all universities and have reminded them of the tight fiscal constraints that we are all operating under.

Business Failures (Nottingham)

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the prospects for a reduction in the number of business failures in the city of Nottingham in 2010.

Mark Prisk: The most recent figures show there were 835 businesses that ceased to trade(1) in Nottingham in 2008 compared to 14,760 in the East Midlands as a whole.
	This Department is committed to help the economy grow by creating the right business environment that will keep the number of business failures to a minimum.
	(1) In addition to business bankruptcies, ceasing to trade data captures businesses simply ceasing to trade due to other reasons such as retirement of owners. Latest data 2008. This is the latest and only data available.

Apprenticeships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many advanced apprenticeships in the engineering and technology green industries will be funded by his Department in 2010-11; and how many of those apprenticeships he expects to be located in the north-east.

John Hayes: This Department is committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced apprenticeships that confer technician status. Many low carbon and green technology apprenticeships will be delivered within existing apprenticeship frameworks such as engineering and we are also committed to ensuring, through Sector Skills Councils, that all apprenticeship frameworks meet the needs of the real economy. Last year 37,000 people started an apprenticeship in engineering and manufacturing technologies in England, including 2,600 in the North East.

Science Research Funding

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much he plans to spend on support for science research in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

David Willetts: This Department will provide £5.7 billion of ring-fenced Science and Research funding this year. It is made up of the Science and Research budget of £3.9 billion, principally to the Research Councils and £1.8 billion of research funding distributed by the university funding Council in England.
	Because the last Government cancelled the Comprehensive Spending Review, budgets have not been set for future years. They will be decided this autumn as part of the Spending Review.

Apprentices

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of new apprenticeships to be created in the next 12 months.

John Hayes: Apprenticeships are funded by both this Department and the Department for Education. 131,000 16 to 18-year-olds and 167,000 adult apprenticeship starts are planned in the 2010/11 academic year. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality employer owned apprenticeships.

Beer: Competition

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to review the operation of the exclusive beer supply obligation for the purposes of assessing its effect on competition.

Edward Davey: The Business Innovation and Skills Committee (BISC) follow-up report on pub companies proposes that they should be allowed one final opportunity to reform, by June 2011. If they fail to do this, the Committee reflected that legislation should be considered. I will be monitoring the industry's progress closely over the coming months.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he made of the average cost of re-building a further education college under his Department's Building Colleges for the Future in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Hayes: In 2008-09 the LSC funded 74 projects at an average cost of £21 million of which an average of £15.3 million came from FE Capital Grant funding (73%). However, it is not possible to give the average cost of rebuilding a further education college as this depends on the size and condition of the existing estate. For example the largest funded project in 2008-09 was £101.9 million of which £87.7million was capital grant funded (86%) and the smallest was £537,000 of which £53,700 was grant-funded (10%).

Business: Regulation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to introduce his Department's proposed one in-one out rule for business regulations.

Mark Prisk: The "one-in, one-out" approach set out in the Coalition's Programme for Government will be overseen by the new Cabinet subcommittee for reducing regulation.
	Further details will be announced shortly.

Further Education: Departmental Co-ordination

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure effective co-ordination between Departments on matters affecting further education policy.

John Hayes: The Department has a strong track record of working effectively with other Departments on further education policy including with Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Work and Pensions and maintains excellent communications across Whitehall at both ministerial and official level on matters affecting further education.
	This approach is supported by a number of mechanisms including joint policy units, joint stakeholder engagement and joint programme management, where that is appropriate.
	My ministerial colleagues and I at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are committed to excellent working relationships across Government and are currently considering the best ways to achieve this. Effective co-ordination with other Departments over matters affecting further education policy will be given the priority it warrants.

Future Jobs Fund: Leeds

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people in  (a) Leeds West constituency and  (b) Leeds have received assistance from the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to support the creation of local enterprise partnerships.

Mark Prisk: The Government will bring forward proposals in the summer that set out our approach to creating Local Enterprise Partnerships. We will introduce legislation to implement the proposed changes during the current session of Parliament.

One NorthEast

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what changes are planned in each budget heading of One North East for 2010-11.

Mark Prisk: No decisions have been made on how projects/programmes currently delivered by ONE will be affected by the £270 million savings from the RDA budget. We are working closely with ONE and the rest of the RDA network to minimise the impact on priority programmes in line with Government priorities. Stakeholders and delivery partners involved in affected programmes and projects will be kept fully informed as specific decisions are made and plans are developed.

Post Offices: Bank Services

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects post offices to offer a wider range of services; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: As set out in "The Coalition: our programme for government" we will ensure that post offices are allowed to offer a wide range of services in order to sustain the network, and we will be working with Post Office Ltd to develop new sources of revenue, including considering the case for a Post Office Bank.

Shops: Books

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the change in the number of bookshops in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of store closures and openings of bookshops for  (a) independent single-store businesses and  (b) large multi-store businesses in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Up until 2007, the Office of National Statistics included book retailers in the same category (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) no. 52.47) as newspaper and stationery retailers. The number of enterprises recorded under SIC 52.47 for the years 2004 to 2007 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 6,991 
			 2005 6,560 
			 2006 6,186 
			 2007 5,994 
		
	
	However in 2007 the Office of National Statistics re-organised the Standard Industrial Classification system which resulted in book retailers being identified under a standalone category (SIC no. 47.61). The number of book retailers in 2008, the most recent year for which data are available, was 1,317.
	The Booksellers Association also collects annual data on the number of independent book retailer openings and closures. However these data are based on the Association's membership and therefore do not represent a complete picture for the sector as a whole.
	
		
			  Independent book shop openings and closures 
			   Openings  Closures 
			 2005 79 58 
			 2006 64 96 
			 2007 81 72 
			 2008 66 83 
			 2009 40 102 
			  Note: Total number of independents at end of 2009 = 1,289.  Source: Booksellers Association

Shops: Books

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of book retailers that have filed for insolvency for each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: The industry classifications that The Insolvency Service compiles do not separately identify book retailers. The following table shows insolvencies in England and Wales for retail trade, except of motor vehicles; repair of personal and household goods as a whole, within which book retail is included.
	
		
			  Insolvencies in England and Wales 
			   Compulsory liquidations  Creditors' voluntary liquidations  Receiverships  Administrations  Company voluntary arrangements  Bankruptcy orders-self-employed individuals 
			 2005 272 530 n/a n/a n/a 1,028 
			 2006(1) 218 474 n/a n/a n/a 812 
			 2007(2) 141 286 2 66 10 384 
			 2008 349 844 5 246 29 914 
			 2009 322 961 20 236 41 1,004 
			 n/a = not available 1 Data only available for Q1-Q3 2006 due to a change in industry classification. 2 Data only available for Q3-Q4 2007 due to a change in industry classification.

Skills Funding Agency: Public Consultation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to ensure the Chief Executive of the Skills Funding Agency receives regular advice from students, colleges and employers through a board structure; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency became fully operational on 1 April 2010, and is responsible for funding adult education and skills training, including apprenticeships for people aged 16 and over. In fulfilling this role, it is vital that the Skills Funding Agency works closely with learners, employers, and the further education sector more widely. An external advisory board is therefore being established which will consist of representatives from learners, employers and their representative bodies. Separate arrangements for a national advisory group have been agreed with colleges and training organisations, which will provide a forum for sharing information between the Chief Executive of Skills Funding and further education colleges and training organisations.

Vocational Training: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to improve manufacturing and research skill levels in the West Midlands.

John Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is seeking to drive up the skills levels of the workforce by directing public funding where it will bring the clearest benefits.
	Following consultation across the region, the following priorities have been identified in the manufacturing sector in the West Midlands: increase the number of apprenticeships and develop new apprenticeship models to engage higher value-added sectors; and support growth points in the regional economy including advanced manufacturing, low carbon and digital sectors through integrated skills offers.
	This is supported by the Sector Skills Council for the manufacturing sector, the Science Engineering Manufacturing and Technologies Alliance (SEMTA), which aims to improve skill levels by:
	Developing apprenticeship frameworks and ensuring that qualifications meet employers' needs;
	Ensuring authoritative labour market information is available for the sector; and
	Raising employer engagement, demand and investment in skills.
	We need more people with science and engineering skills at all levels to support excellence in our research base and to be successful in the future. As we rebalance the economy, policies to create the environment for a high-performing research base will be a critical factor.

Yorkshire Forward

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of Yorkshire Forward.

Mark Prisk: The Government set out their position on the future of Regional Developments Agencies (RDAs) in their programme for Government: "Freedom Fairness Responsibility". We will support the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships to replace RDAs.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Departmental Public Expenditure

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000.

Gregory Barker: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to Cabinet Ministers reiterating transparency commitments made in the Coalition Programme for Government, and setting out a timetable for achieving them. In particular, all new items of central government spending over £25,000 will be published online in an open format from November 2010.

Departmental Redundancy Pay

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to his Department of redundancy payments for  (a) front line and  (b) other staff.

Gregory Barker: The Department has made no estimate of any such costs.

National Grid

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average national grid transmission charge in each generation zone is; and what change to the charge in each zone has been in each of the last five years.

Charles Hendry: The following chart shows the average National Grid Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges in each generation zone.
	As zones and the methodology have evolved over time, National Grid advise that it is difficult to make a direct comparison between published zone tariffs. In order to make a meaningful comparison, therefore, National Grid has made alterations to the data, including:
	Removal of Year 1 charges from the average (zones were adjusted between 2006-07 and 2007-08).
	An adjustment to lessen the impact of moving to local charging (TNUoS charges were effectively split into two charges-local and wider. The tariffs have been re-combined for the benefit of the comparison).
	
		
			Zonal tariff (£/kW) 
			  Zone No.  Zone name  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11  Average Y2-5  % change Y2 to Y5  % change Y2 to Y5 as % of largest tariff  Contracted generation October 2009 (MW)  % change in generation over period 
			 1 North Scotland 20.52 21.59 22.26 23.33 21.22 22.10 -2 -2 617 -2 
			 2 Peterhead 18.39 19.23 19.76 20.58 18.97 19.63 -1 -1 1,524 0 
			 3 Western Highland and Skye 18.62 19.86 20.53 22.57 24.50 21.86 23 21 308 155 
			 4 Central Highlands 15.41 16.44 16.74 17.16 18.18 17.13 11 8 200 0 
			 5 Argyll 13.52 14.68 15.06 15.23 14.63 14.90 0 0 535 0 
			 6 Stirlingshire 13.07 14.03 14.36 14.93 13.88 14.30 -1 -1 2,681 0 
			 7 South Scotland 12.14 13.02 13.52 14.06 13.04 13.41 0 0 3,917 5 
			 8 Auchencrosh 5.61 10.14 10.38 10.84 10.52 10.47 4 2 80 0 
			 9 Humber and Lancashire 5.61 5.88 6.32 6.50 5.77 6.12 -2 -1 17,769 3 
			 10 North East England 8.89 9.25 9.95 10.26 9.20 9.67 -1 0 3,142 0 
			 11 Anglesey 6.28 6.41 6.83 7.13 6.43 6.70 0 0 980 0 
			 12 Dinorwig 8.94 9.28 9.82 10.26 9.52 9.72 3 1 1,644 37 
			 13 South Yorks and North Wales 3.84 4.00 4.42 4.48 3.88 4.19 -3 -1 12,342 12 
			 14 Midlands 1.22 1.97 2.32 2.43 1.88 2.15 -5 0 7,067 2 
			 15 South Wales and Gloucester -2.74 -2.46 -2.47 -1.26 0.73 -1.36 -130 -15 4,556 1 
			 16 Central London -5.50 -5.71 -5.66 -6.72 -6.15 -6.06 8 2 144 0 
			 17 South East 1.22 0.91 1.22 0.53 1.08 0.93 19 1 13,194 2 
			 18 Oxon and South Coast -0.51 -0.27 -0.01 -0.60 -0.58 -0.36 117 1 4,079 1 
			 19 Wessex -5.07 -4.10 -2.57 -2.93 -2.28 -2.97 -44 -8 3,500 35 
			 20 Peninsula -9.15 -8.57 -8.53 -6.03 -5.22 -7.08 -39 -16 1,045 646 
			 
			Average -2.16 -0.37   
			Volumeweighted -1.94 -1.39

Warm Front Scheme

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the future of the Warm Front scheme; and what recent representations he has received on the time taken for applicants under that scheme to receive assistance.

Gregory Barker: Funding for the scheme is just over £1.1 billion for the current three year spending period to March 2011. This includes a cash provision of £345m for 2010-11. Funding for future years will be considered as part of the budget and spending review processes.
	The scheme continues to experience very high levels of demand. In order to manage this demand within the available budget, insulation work is currently taking up to three months to complete and new or replacement heating systems up to six months to install.

PRIME MINISTER

Andy Coulson

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister whether a document security briefing has been provided to Mr Andy Coulson since 6 May 2010.

David Cameron: All individuals with access to Government papers are reminded of the security regulations surrounding documents.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Helen Goodman: To ask the Prime Minister how many special advisers he  (a) has appointed and  (b) plans to appoint.

David Cameron: Information relating to special adviser appointments will be published shortly at which time I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to use a mobile telephone for official business.

David Cameron: I will conduct business in the most appropriate manner and as circumstances dictate.

Middle East

Iain Wright: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to visit the Middle East.

David Cameron: As set out in the Queen's Speech, in the Middle East the Government will work for a two state solution that sees a viable state of Palestine existing in peace and security alongside Israel. As I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu, we deplore the loss of life off the coast of Gaza in recent days. I will of course update Parliament on progress including any visits to the region.

TREASURY

Bank Services: Fees and Charges

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to regulate account charges by banks and other investment and lending bodies on  (a) personal and  (b) business account holders.

Mark Hoban: The Government have stated in the coalition agreement that "we will introduce stronger consumer protections, including measures to end unfair bank and financial transaction charges". We are considering how best to implement this commitment and will bring forward proposals in due course.

Capital Allowances: Manufacturing Industries

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future level of investment allowances for manufacturing businesses; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Coalition Agreement sets out the Government's aim to:
	"reform the corporate tax system by simplifying reliefs and allowances, and tackling avoidance, in order to reduce headline rates. Our aim is to create the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20, while protecting manufacturing industries."
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer will make a further statement at the emergency Budget on 22 June 2010.

Capital Gains Tax

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to ensure that any changes to capital gains tax do not discourage employee share ownership; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: We are seeking ways of taxing non-business capital gains at rates similar or close to those applied to income, with generous exemptions for entrepreneurial business activities. Further details will be provided at Budget.

Corporation Tax

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will discuss with Ministerial colleagues steps to ensure that the application of the small company tax rate does not disadvantage individuals who operate more than one small company; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Government recognise the essential role of small businesses in the economy. They have set out their intention to reform the corporate tax system and create the most competitive tax regime in the G20.
	The associated company rules are an important element of that regime and provide protection for the Exchequer. The Government keep all taxes under review to ensure they are as fair and simple as possible.

Departmental Manpower

David Anderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the cost to the public purse of proposed reductions in numbers of non-frontline staff in his Department and its agencies;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to his Department of redundancy payments for  (a) front line and  (b) other staff employed by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies.

Justine Greening: Our aim will be wherever possible to manage any necessary staff reductions within the Treasury and its agencies through natural wastage at no additional cost.

Departmental Manpower

David Anderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) front-line and  (b) other staff were employed by (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in the latest year for which figures are available; and what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to the public purse of employing staff of each type at each of those bodies.

Justine Greening: Details of Treasury Group staff numbers and the administration budget outturn for the Group in 2008-09 are shown in the Treasury's Annual Report and Accounts available from
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	Neither the Treasury nor any of its agencies employs front line staff.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the  (a) implementation of penalty clauses and payments in its contracts and  (b) potential legal action arising from the deferral and cancellation of contracts and projects under his Department's plans to achieve cost savings; and whether those estimates are included in the total cost savings to be achieved by his Department.

Justine Greening: The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is undertaking work to review major projects and support the renegotiation of contracts on behalf of Central Government to seek efficiencies in the region of £1.7 billion. The analysis of all contingent liabilities, in order to achieve maximum actual savings, is a core part of the review methodology. The OGC will be taking into account the potential costs of deferment or cancellation and advise Departments on next steps accordingly.

Economic and Monetary Union

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) amount and  (b) nature is of the liability of the United Kingdom for stability in the eurozone under the agreement of 9 May 2010.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 2 June 2010
	 Under the agreement reached on 9 May by EU Finance Ministers, the Council agreed to establish a European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, totalling €500 billion.
	The mechanism consists of two parts:
	up to €440 billion to be provided by euro-area member states (and others who choose to participate) through a special purpose vehicle.
	up to €60 billion of emergency finance provided in accordance with article 122(2) of the Lisbon treaty.
	The UK will not participate in the special purpose vehicle, and there is therefore no question of any liability arising to the UK.
	Should the €60 billion element of the mechanism be called upon, the European Commission would raise the money on capital markets. Loans would be granted in parallel with IMF programmes and would be subject to policy conditionality. The EU budget would be used to guarantee the loans. Only where there were defaults on loan repayments would there be a cost to the EU budget. Member states would be liable for a share through their monthly subscriptions to the EU budget: based on the UK's contribution to the 2010 EU budget, the UK's share would be approximately 13.6% of any increase, or up to a maximum of around €8 billion.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the implementation of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report on Equitable Life.

Mark Hoban: We will establish an independently designed payment scheme that is transparent and fair to both taxpayers and policyholders.
	Sir John Chadwick is advising the Treasury on the relative losses suffered by Equitable Life policyholders in relation to those accepted cases of maladministration resulting in injustice. He will submit his report by mid-July.
	As recognised by the parliamentary ombudsman in her report, any scheme will need to take the potential impact on the public purse into account.
	The Government are working hard to address the situation quickly, while ensuring that our approach is thorough and fair.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

David Hamilton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the most recent EU review of minimum rates of excise duty to be applied to alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Justine Greening: The European Commission proposed revisions to the EU Directive setting minimum rates of excise duty on alcoholic beverages in September 2006. Following two discussions at Ministerial level at ECOFIN in November 2006, when it was not possible to reach agreement, successive EU Presidencies have chosen not to schedule further Council discussion of the dossier.
	The Commission is currently in the process of reviewing the EU rules on alcohol duty again and will report the findings of their review to the Council in due course. It is unclear at this stage whether they will propose changes to EU legislation on minimum rates of duty.

Office for Budget Responsibility

John Pugh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much funding he has allocated to the budget of the Office of Budget Responsibility;
	(2)  whether any posts in his Department are to be deleted as a consequence of the establishment of the Office of Budget Responsibility;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the net change in total Government expenditure consequent on the establishment of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Justine Greening: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was established on an interim basis on 17 May 2010 and is funded from within HM Treasury's existing departmental budget, it is led by a three-person Budget Responsibility Committee, supported by a small secretariat of economists and public finance experts redeployed from within the Treasury. The interim OBR is also drawing on experts remaining within the Treasury.
	Sir Alan Budd, as Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee, will be advising the Chancellor on the arrangements for the permanent body and legislation will be brought forward in due course.

Public Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 26 May 2010,  Official Report, columns 2-3WS, on savings (2010-11), which buildings will be affected by the proposed £170 million reductions in property costs.

Danny Alexander: The £170 million savings figure reflects a range of measures and decisions that will need to be taken to improve the management and use of government property, including reviewing and agreeing a disposals programme, delaying acquisitions, improving space usage, and giving up leases. The figure includes savings from both running costs and capital expenditure.
	It is not possible to provide a list of buildings at this stage since in a number of cases this will involve commercial confidentiality issues.

Public Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 26 May 2010,  Official Report, columns 2-3WS, on savings (2010-11), what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of private sector jobs of the proposed changes to contracts.

Danny Alexander: As part of the contribution to achieving the savings outlined by the Government on 24 May, Government will be seeking to achieve greater value for money in the purchasing of goods and services from third parties. At this point in time no detailed estimates have been made as to the effect on the number of private sector jobs of the proposed changes.

Taxation: Financial Services

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a tax upon financial activities.

Justine Greening: We are working with international partners, looking at all the options. We will introduce a banking levy as detailed in the coalition agreement.